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The China Meteorological Administration (CMA) announced on Monday that the average number of smog days across the country was 27.5 last year - a decrease of 10.5 days compared to 2016.

In its 2018 China Air Environment Report, the CMA stated that China has achieved its best set of figures since 2013, when the country experienced its worst-ever smog results of nearly 47 affected days, Xinhua reports.

The national average densities of PM10 and PM2.5, two major air pollutants that form poisonous smog, hit 75 and 43 microgrammes per cubic metre respectively in 2017 - a fall of 5.1 and 6.5 percent compared to 2016. Furthermore, they represent a reduction of 22.7 and 44.2 percent when measured against figures from 2013.

Zhang Hengde, a senior engineer at the Central Meteorological Observatory, attributed the results to effective carbon emission policies and favourable weather conditions during the winter heating season (January and February of this year, as well as November and December 2017).

The latest statistics from the Chinese Ministry of Environment Protection (MEP) show that the average concentration of PM2.5 in Beijing, Tianjian and 26 other major cities in northern China, the so-called "2+26 cities", decreased by one third year-on-year between October and January.

The MEP said that all 28 cities have recorded a decline in PM2.5 levels, with 27 able to meet their winter 2017 air quality targets. Jining, a city in Shandong Province, saw an inadequate 8.4 percent decrease.

The cities were ordered to cut the concentration of PM2.5 by between 10 and 25 percent during the October to March period. In order to achieve this, each limited industrial output, traffic and coal usage.

Chi Dehua
has been a staff editor at GBTIMES since 2013. She covers foreign affairs, business and culture.